


Mistake Cake

by Agapostemon



Series: Steady As the Stars in the Woods [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Camp Songs, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Jewish Holts, Sick Hunk, Sickfic, Trans Boy Hunk, kitchen disasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 07:37:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11939406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agapostemon/pseuds/Agapostemon
Summary: Matt (12:25pm): did you just imply that me and shiro can’t cook?Matt (12:25pm): also did you just ask your jewish coworker to make jello??Lance (12:26pm): They make kosher jello!!Lance (12:26pm): …wait. They do, don’t they? That’s a thing? Right?Matt (12:26pm): ye that’s a thingMatt (12:26pm): we’d probs have to drive all the way up to providence to get some, but whatever. its our day off. bet i can bribe shiro to drive in exchange for noodles that didn’t come out of a package----Hunk is sick. Lance is concerned. Matt and Shiro can't cook to save their lives.





	Mistake Cake

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warnings: Cursing, minor illness/lots of coughing, animal (snail) harm
> 
> This started with a sickfic prompt fill but got way out of hand, haha.
> 
> **Characters/Ages/Roles:**  
>  Shiro - 24 - High School Camp Counselor  
> Matt - 24 - High School Camp Counselor  
> Shay - 22 - Elementary Camp Counselor  
> Keith - 20 - Middle School Camp Counselor  
> Hunk - 20 - Elementary Camp Counselor  
> Lance - 19 - Beachfront Educator  
> Pidge - 19 - Middle School Camp Counselor  
> Plaxum - 12 - Camper  
> Lotor's Squad - 8 - Campers

“Hey, has anybody seen—” Hunk’s question is interrupted by a painful-sounding coughing fit. Lance winces sympathetically.

“…Ezor?” Shay hazards a guess. Hunk nods, eyes watering. Shay glances around worriedly, then sighs, “No. It appears she has wandered away… again.”

“How does she keep doing that?” Hunk wheezes, “She’s like the loudest kid in the whole gosh-darn camp! How is she so good at—” cough “—disappearing?”

“Beats me,” Lance shrugs, “Guess we should—hey! Don’t eat that!” He dashes away to pull a clump of rotting seaweed out of a camper’s hands. Unsurprisingly, Narti is hovering close to the scene of the crime. He shoots her a knowing glare. Not that she can see him.

“I will contact Coran,” Shay says defeatedly, pulling out her phone.

“Probably a good idea,” Hunk agrees, coughing into his elbow and eyeing the rest of the campers.

“Man,” says Lance, jogging back towards his friends, “You just can’t shake that cough, huh big guy?”

Hunk groans, but flaps his hand dismissively, “I’ll be fine. Just gotta get through today. Then I can go home and eat all the popsicles my little heart desires.”

Lance frowns, but before he can fuss over his friend any more, he’s interrupted by the crack of Zethrid smashing open a snail with a rock. “Awww man!” he whines, spinning to face the troublemaker, “We talked about this _last_ week. Be _nice_ to the periwinkles. They’re alive, remember?”

Zethrid just cackles.

Lance pouts. 

This is gonna be a long day.

 

\-----------

 

Matt wakes up to a plastic finger prodding his ticklish ribs. He squirms in protest.

“Your phone won’t shut up,” Shiro says.

Matt groans, “Too early. Why’re you awake?”

“Matt, it’s past noon,” Shiro retorts, “But even if it wasn’t, your phone would’ve done the trick.”

“Too early,” Matt repeats, stubbornly burrowing his face into the nearest pillow.

“If you wanna keep sleeping, why don’t you do it in your _own_ bed?” Shiro teases, “And take your phone with you.”

Matt peaks out to make sure his friend isn’t actually upset. He’s not. He’s wearing a cheeky grin. But all this bantering has destroyed any chance of getting back to sleep, so Matt reluctantly sits up, “Fiiine. I’m up, I’m up. Gimme my phone.”

Shiro hands his phone over, and Matt busies himself groggily checking messages. An email from Coran, a Pokémon Go notification, a reminder to take his meds approximately five hours ago, some messages from a Discord chat he forgot to mute, and… a crap ton of texts from Lance? Wow, no wonder his phone was driving Shiro up a wall.

> **Lance (12:15pm): Hey Matt my maaan!! How’s the day off treatin you?**
> 
> **Lance (12:15pm): Can I ask you for like… the biggest flavor ever???**
> 
> **Lance (12:16pm): See, Hunk’s feelin mad lousy and I was THINKING**
> 
> **Lance (12:16pm): What’s Hunk’s favorite thign in the HOLE WIDE WORLD?**
> 
> **Lance (12:16pm): FOOD!!!!! :D**
> 
> **Lance (12:16pm): And y’know what makes ME feel better when I’m feelin icky sicky?**
> 
> **Lance (12:16pm): JELLO!!!**
> 
> **Lance (12:17pm): But I’m like… at work? :/**
> 
> **Lance (12:17pm): And everybody else who knows how to cook is at work to?**
> 
> **Lance (12:17pm): But you and Shiro have the day off because you’re working space camp this weekend!!!**
> 
> **Lance (12:18pm): sO HERE’S MY IDEA**
> 
> **Lance (12:18pm): WHAT IF, here me out here**
> 
> **Lance (12:18pm): So I found this 7 LAYER JELLO CAKE recipe**
> 
> **Lance (12:18pm): And I was wondering if you guys could do me a solid and make it for Hunk while we’re at work???**
> 
> **Lance (12:19pm): Please please PRETTY PLEEEASE??? With sugar on top?**
> 
> **Lance (12:19pm): He’s my BEST BUD and I hate seeing him feel so yucky!! :(**

Matt squints at his phone, attempting to process the deluge of texts. Finally, he formulates a sufficiently clever response and types back.

> _Matt (12:25pm): did you just imply that me and shiro can’t cook?_
> 
> _Matt (12:25pm): also did you just ask your jewish coworker to make jello??_
> 
> **Lance (12:26pm): They make kosher jello!!**
> 
> **Lance (12:26pm): …wait. They do, don’t they? That’s a thing? Right?**
> 
> _Matt (12:26pm): ye that’s a thing_
> 
> _Matt (12:26pm): we’d probs have to drive all the way up to providence to get some, but whatever. its our day off. bet i can bribe shiro to drive in exchange for noodles that didn’t come out of a package_
> 
> **Lance (12:27pm): …..WAIT**
> 
> **Lance (12:28pm): I just watched you scarf down half a tray of cocktail shrimp like… last week! Did you like… JUST start eating kosher??**
> 
> _Matt (12:28pm): have you MET my sister? y’know, the one you LIVE WITH?_
> 
> **Lance (12:28pm): Oh right**
> 
> **Lance (12:29pm): OK so, you just gotta get some kosher jello from Providence, then make a cake! Peice of cake!**
> 
> _Matt (12:29pm): i hope that pun was intentional_
> 
> **Lance (12:29pm): ;)**
> 
> _Matt (12:29pm): fiiiiiine, i’ll do it for the pun_
> 
> **Lance (12:30pm): THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU YOU’RE MY FAVORITE!!!!!**

Matt sets down his phone and casts a smirk in Shiro’s direction.

“What?” Shiro asks, looking up from his laptop and quirking an eyebrow.

“We’re making 7-layer Kosher Jello cake today,” Matt states matter-of-factly.

“Of… course we are,” Shiro responds with a puff of laughter, shutting his laptop and looking to his friend for further directions.

“You up for a trip to Providence?” 

Shiro grins, “Only if we get udon while we’re there.”

 

\-----------

 

“—Daaa-ddy SHARK doo doo doodoodoodoo, daddy shark doo doo doodoodoodoo, daddy shark doo doo doodoodoodoo, DADDY SHARK!” Lance sings with gusto, diligently ignoring the fact that Zethrid is trying to eat him using her arms as shark jaws, “Graaand-pa SHARK doo doo doodoodoodoo, grandpa shark doo doo doodoodoodoo, grandpa sha—”

Another coughing fit from Hunk drowns out the sound of the singing circle. Lance stops to frown over at his friend.

“Don’t mind me,” Hunk rasps, self-consciously clasping his hands together under his chin, “I’ll just go… sit down. Over there. Out of the way. So you guys can sing. Without any more interruptions.” He laughs nervously and starts to sidle away.

Lance’s frown deepens for a second, but he quickly replaces it with a cheery smile and turns back to the circle, “Sorry friends, Lancey Lance needs to go check on Mr. Hunk and make sure he’s okay! Does anybody wanna lead the next song?”

A middle school girl—Plaxum, one of Lance’s not-so-secret favorites—immediately waves her hand in the air.

Lance finger-guns in her direction, “You got it, Plax! What song you gonna sing?” He asks out of habit, even though he already knows the answer.

“Jellyfish! Jellyfish!” she bounces on her toes in excitement, but quickly composes herself and takes a deep breath before raising her arms and singing “Aaarms up!” in a ridiculous approximation of a posh British accent. The rest of the campers and counselors follow suit, and Lance quietly excuses himself to check on Hunk.

“Hey man,” he says, plopping down on the grass beside his best friend, “You doin’ okay?”

Hunk shrugs, “I’ve been better.” Every breath he takes crackles in his chest.

Lance reaches out to rub his back, but he pauses as soon as his hand makes contact, “Buddy, are you wearing your binder today?”

Hunk opens his mouth to respond, but all that comes out is a series of chesty coughs, so he just nods.

“Dude,” Lance says, his voice halfway between sympathetic and scolding, “I’m no expert, but that sounds like a recipe for disaster with a cough like this!”

Hunk whimpers, “I knooow, I know. I feel like a stupid idiot. But I didn’t pack a sports bra, so I can’t really fix it until I get home! It’s not like I can borrow a sports bra from _Pidge_.” He holds his hand a few inches apart, indicating how tiny Pidge is compared to him.

“Aww, buddy,” Lance scoots closer, resting his head on Hunk’s soft shoulder and wrapping an arm around his back, “You’re not a stupid idiot. You just made a lil’ mistake.”

Hunk rubs his cheek against Lance’s hair and clears his throat miserably in lieu of a response.

Lance pouts, “But we really gotta get you outta that thing. Did you bring a hoodie or anything?”

Hunk moans, “Lance, it’s like 90 degrees out!”

Okay, fair point. Lance scrunches up his face and ponders some more. He has an idea, but he’s not sure how his friend will feel about it. But it’s the only idea he has, so what the heck. Here goes nothing, “Uh, well, you could always just… take off your binder and hang out in Allura and Coran’s office for the afternoon? They have a couch! With blankets, so you could cover up! And air conditioning, so you won’t melt while covering up! I know you don’t like missing work, but you’re mad sick and I’m worried about you, man. My Thursday afternoons are just paperwork heck and feeding the fishies, so I could totally help Shay with the kiddos. Don’t worry about—”

“Yeah,” interrupts Hunk. His voice sounds watery, but Lance can’t quite tell if it’s because of the cough or if he’s about to cry. “Yeah, can we do that? I feel awful. I just wanna take a nap.” 

“Of course, buddy,” Lance says softly, giving his friend a gentle squeeze, “It’s comfy couch time.”

 

\-----------

 

Shiro frowns down at the box of apple-flavored vegan gelatin in his hand, “Are you sure this is gonna work with… uh…”

“Relax, it’ll be fine!” Matt assures him, brandishing a box of lychee-flavored halal gelatin, “The recipe seems pretty flexible.”

“If you say so,” Shiro shrugs and resumes unpacking their groceries onto the kitchen counter, “So where do we start?”

Matt glances at the recipe on his phone, “Boil ¾ cup water and we’ll add the first packet of Jello to it.”

“In… what?” Shiro inquires.

“Uh, I dunno. A big bowl?”

Shiro stoops down and rummages through their mostly-neglected cookware cabinet, emerging a moment later with a large plastic mixing bowl, “This work?”

“Works for me,” Matt says, reaching around his friend to pull out a saucepan, which he fills with water and puts on the stove.

They stare at the pan. Shiro taps his foot. Matt paces laps around the kitchen. By the time the water actually boils, they’ve retreated to the living room and entirely forgotten about their cooking endeavor, draped over each other on the recliner chair and completely engrossed in their phones.

“Shit!” Shiro yelps when the pot inevitably boils over. He nearly dumps Matt off the chair in his rush to get to the kitchen and remove the pan from the burner.

Matt arrives a moment later and grabs the first gelatin box in sight (watermelon), “Welp, moment of truth! You pour the water, I pour the Jello?”

Shiro nods and dumps the contents of the pan into the mixing bowl. Matt follows suit with the powdered gelatin.

“…shit,” Shiro whispers as Matt stirs the mixture.

“What?”

“I… might have forgotten to measure that,” Shiro admits.

Matt looks between his friend and the Jello he’s stirring, then shrugs, “Oh well, close enough. We’ll just give it extra time to set.”

“Wait, how long _are_ we supposed to let this set?” asks Shiro.

Matt makes a noncommittal sound and pulls out his phone, “Uh… 40 minutes.”

“40 minutes?” Shiro checks.

“Yeah, 40… wait. _Heck_.”

“What?”

“We were supposed to add ¾ cup _cold_ water, too.”

“Should we… do that now?”

Matt flicks his hand dismissively, “Nah, there’s already extra water in there, just… drop a couple of those plastic ice cube things in there to cool it down without adding any water. Y’know, the ones Keith puts in his water bottles.”

Shiro shrugs and does as he’s told, “Okay, done. So… 40 minutes?”

“Yep.”

They stare at each other for a moment.

“…do we have to wait 40 minutes for _every_ layer?” Shiro asks cautiously.

Matt checks his phone again, “The rest are only 30.”

“There’s no way we’re gonna finish this by the end of the work day. You know that, right?”

“Bet we can speed things up with more fake ice cubes and a little time in the fridge!” Matt suggests optimistically.

“Or time in the _freezer_ ,” Shiro adds with a grin. 

“You are a _genius_!” Matt cackles gleefully.

 

\-----------

 

By the time Keith arrives home a couple hours later, Matt and Shiro’s concoction is looking less like a 7-layer Jello cake and more like a multicolored Jello monster choked on a bunch of plastic ice cubes and threw up in their bowl.

Keith is baffled and less than impressed. Which Matt thinks is a bit unfair, coming from someone who thinks “burnt to a crisp and drenched in sriracha” is a successful cooking attempt.

“Are those my ice cubes?” Keith asks, peering into the bowl.

“We’ll give them back, I promise,” says Shiro.

Keith raises an eyebrow.

“We’ll… clean them, first,” Shiro adds with a sheepish grin.

Keith shrugs, apparently satisfied with that answer. Without another word, he strolls to the pantry and grabs a packet of cinnamon spice oatmeal before retreating to his room.

A moment later, Matt’s phone buzzes. It’s Lance, of course.

> **Lance (5:19pm): Hunk is home, safe and sound~ <3**
> 
> **Lance (5:19pm): How goes the JELLO SURPRISE?**

Matt glances over at the mixing bowl and grimaces. It only takes a split second for him to decide that the truth is the best option available to them, so he snaps a quick photo of their handiwork and sends it to Lance.

> _Matt (5:20pm): we’re on the second-to-last layer_
> 
> _Matt (5:21pm): (i’m using the loosest possible definition of “layer” here, fyi)_
> 
> **Lance (5:22pm): Cool! Looks like Jello!**

Matt decides to take that as a compliment.

> **Lance (5:22pm): When ya think you’ll be done?**

Matt shoots Shiro a frantic look.

“What?” Shiro cocks his head.

“When’s the soonest we can have this thing done by?”

“Depends,” says Shiro, “How much do we care about layer integrity?”

“ _What_ layer integrity? Pretty sure we gave up on layer integrity after like… layer two,” Matt retorts, suddenly unsure whether he wants to laugh or cry.

“Well then, I don’t see why we can’t just add the last layer now and throw the whole thing in the freezer for like 20 minutes,” Shiro suggests blandly.

Matt throws his hands in the air, “I _guess_!”

“That’s the spirit,” Shiro snorts as Matt returns his attention to his phone.

> _Matt (5:25pm): we’ll be over in like 40 min_
> 
> **Lance (5:25pm): Cool cool! You’re the best!!**

Matt’s not so sure about that last part, but hey. He’ll take the praise while it lasts.

 

\-----------

 

By the time they pile into Shiro’s station wagon to deliver their creation, the adrenaline rush of cooking has worn off, leaving Matt and Shiro exhausted and anxious about how their gift will be received. On one hand, Lance knew _exactly_ what he was getting into by asking them to help with an elaborate cooking project. On the other…

“Why do _I_ have to hold this?” Keith asks from the back seat, scowling down at the bowl in his lap.

“It’s cold,” Shiro says as he turns the key in the ignition.

“And we couldn’t find the lid, so someone’s gotta hold it,” Matt adds, “Preferably someone who’s _not_ prone to cold-induced panic attacks.”

Keith huffs, “Fine.”

Awkward silence falls over them as they pull out of the drive, so Matt pulls out his phone to hit some Pokéstops along the way.

When they pull up to Hunk, Lance and Pidge’s building and hop out of the car, Keith immediately shoves the bowl into Shiro’s hands. “This is your problem, now.”

“Such loyalty. Such support,” Shiro scoffs.

Lance comes rushing out before Matt even has a chance to text him about their arrival, ushering them into the apartment with a mix of delight and urgency. If he notices what a disaster their cooking attempt is, he doesn’t mention it.

“I got Hunk to take some cough syrup and lay his butt down, so he’s feelin’ a little less crummy at least,” he explains as they file into the living room. Once everyone is inside, he calls down the hallway, “Hey big guy, I got a surprise for you!”

“Wha?” Hunk mumbles as he emerges from his bedroom. His tawny cheeks are blotched with red, and he’s wearing a sunflower-patterned quilt over his shoulders like a cloak. His voice is scratchy and congested.

“Dude, you look like shit,” Keith states bluntly, concern written across his face.

“We come bearing questionable desserts?” says Matt, gesturing over at Shiro, who sheepishly raises the bowl.

“Aww, you guys!” Hunk responds, face lighting up with tired delight, “You’re so good to me!”

“You might wanna try it before thanking us,” says Shiro, “Or better yet, we could throw this in the garbage in pretend it never happened.”

Pidge chooses this moment to poke her head out of her room, “Wait. Hang on. Am I dreaming, or did my brother, Shiro and Keith just show up with homecooked food? There is no way this can possibly end well.”

“Not me,” Keith holds his hands up, “I had no part in this.”

“Aww no, I bet it’s fine,” Hunk says sweetly. He clears his throat and adjusts his quilt, then holds his hands out, “Lemme see.”

“Suit yourself,” Shiro shrugs, handing over the mixing bowl.

Matt buries his face in his hands. Keith leans against the nearest wall and watches with open amusement.

“Ah yes, okay, it’s…” Hunk squints into the bowl. Matt can practically hear the gears turning in his head. After a minute or so, he asks tentatively, “What… is it, exactly?”

Silence for a moment. Giggles bubble in Matt’s chest until he can’t hold them in any longer. Within moments, Shiro is bellowing with laughter alongside his friend, and Pidge is cackling in the background. Then Keith and Lance are howling, too, and Hunk has to set down the bowl so he doesn’t cough into it as he tries unsuccessfully to hold in his own laughter.

Eventually, the laughter dies down, and Lance chirps out, “7-layer Jello cake,” between residual giggles.

“It’s kosher, Pidge, don’t worry,” Shiro adds in quickly.

Pidge’s eyes light up.

“Don’t get too excited,” Shiro says, “I said kosher, not _edible_.”

Hunk wheezes with another bout of laughter, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry guys—” cough “—I just… _layers_.”

“ _Layers!_ ” shrieks Pidge, looking into the bowl for the first time.

“Yeah, we uh… decided on kind of an innovative _deconstructed_ approach to the classic 7-layer Jello cake,” explains Matt.

“They put it in the freezer,” says Keith, rudely revealing their culinary secrets.

“Oh, like _you_ wouldn’t do the _same_ ,” accuses Matt playfully.

“Nah,” Shiro shakes his head, “I’ve seen what Keith does with Jello. He drinks it as a hot beverage.”

Keith doesn’t respond to that, but his face says _guilty as charged_.

“Seriously, though,” says Shiro, “I’m not sure that concoction is fit for human consumption.”

“Well, only one way to find out,” says Hunk clutching his quilt cloak with one hand and rummaging through a drawer with the other. He pulls out a spoon and holds it up victoriously, “Time for a taste test!”

Matt and Shiro exchange an apprehensive look as Hunk takes a bite of their creation.

He thoughtfully swirls the Jello around in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. His expression is more curious than appalled, to Matt’s surprise. He hums to himself for a moment, pondering, then says, “Hm yes, a very interesting take on a classic dessert. Very unique flavor palette… what flavors did you guys use?”

“Uhhhhh… watermelon?” Matt says sheepishly.

“Apple…” adds Shiro, “Lychee…”

“Grape.”

“Lemon.”

“Pineapple.”

“And blackberry,” Shiro concludes.

“Wow,” says Lance, “I didn’t even know Jello came in half those flavors!”

“Healthfood stores are a breeding ground for unexpected flavors,” says Matt with a shrug.

“I like it!” Hunk announces finally, having had time to fully process the experience, “Very creative. The freezing and thawing had an… interesting, but not altogether unpleasant effect on the texture. And the flavor palette is weirdly charming. It may not be very cake-like, but this is a delicious Mistake Cake in its own right!”

“Woo!” Lance cheers, punching a fist in the air before scampering to the kitchen to grab some bowls, “Who wants some Mistake Cake?”

There’s a hesitant chorus of “yeah, sure” and “I guess” as Lance shoos his best friend away from the dessert and begins spooning Jello into six paper bowls.

“Please refrain from eating the plastic ice cubes,” Shiro warns as Lance hands out bowls.

“Duly noted,” drawls Pidge.

Before they all sit down to enjoy their (surprisingly acceptable) snack, Lance gathers them in a circle to have a toast. “To Mistake Cake and a swift recovery for our best boy, Hunk!” he announces, holding up his bowl.

“To Mistake Cake!” the rest of them echo, tapping their bowls together.

**Author's Note:**

> The songs featured in this are [Baby Shark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqZsoesa55w) and [The Jellyfish Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuFv-75OIG4).
> 
> If you wanna come say hi, I'm [Agapostemon](https://agapostemon.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr!
> 
> Also: Please remember that I write purely for fun and catharsis. My fics are unbeta’d and minimally proofread. They’re not perfect, and that’s okay. If you notice something I could fix or improve, please keep those thoughts to yourself. If I genuinely want critique, I’ll ask a close friend in private. **Surprise critiques are very stressful and discouraging.** Thanks for understanding!


End file.
